Elizabeth R (1971)

Depicting the life of Elizabeth Tudor, this six part drama series takes us as she evolves from the terrified Princess living under constant threat of death to the famed Virgin Queen who ruled England for 45 years. Glenda Jackson is superb in the title role with a supporting cast from amongst the finest English stage and television actors - notably Ronald Hines, Stephen Murray, John Shrapnel and Robert Hardy. The script is tight, the direction focused and the performances convey all the peril, malevolence, greed, perniciousness and ambition of the 16th Century English court. It rarely ventures out of the studio, but the quality of the production has held up well in the almost 50 years since it was made by the BBC.